This Week's PNW Food News: Cupcakes and Burgers in PDX; Craft Beer in Vancouver

[Acurso, EPDX]

PORTLAND— Great news for Rose City's cupcake and burger connoisseurs: The Portland-based Little Big Burger chainlet opened its eighth Oregon location earlier this week on NE Alberta Avenue, meaning its burgers are now available a stone's throw from other favorite chainlets like Bunk Sandwiches, Salt & Straw, and Pine State Biscuits. Meanwhile, Portland's beloved Saint Cupcake bakery—which closed up shop in December 2013—is coming back from the dead, with new ownership purchasing the bakery (and owner Jami Curl's recipes). Curl will continue to focus on her artisan candy line Quin, while Saint Cupcake's downtown resurrection is scheduled for this June. [EPDX]

VANCOUVER— The Vancouver Craft Beer Week kicks off today with nine days (who said hopheads could count?) of craft-brewed fun, competitions and beer-paired dinners, all with a hip hop theme. Get familiar with the territory with this indispensable guide to where to drink craft beer in the city and, keeping it boozy, if you've visiting over the weekend, the Tequila Expo is in town here's an Eater Instant Expert cheat-sheet on how to handle the tasting room like a boss. [EVAN]

PORTLAND— Bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler (famously of the Ace Hotel's Clyde Common and newish underground bunker bar Pepe Le Moko) chats with Eater PDX about his two decades of bartending and his upcoming book, The Bar Book. In the interview, Morgenthaler also reveals what it's like working at a high-volume bar like Clyde: "Clyde's so crazy, you're pretty much in the weeds from the minute you start until the minute you finish." [EPDX]

VANCOUVER— Signs of summer have been cropping up on menus across the city, we map 16 places where you can get fresh-off-the-plane-from-Italy burrata. City chefs have reacted to a story in the Chicago Tribune last weekend which asked the eternal question: should restaurants smile and roll over when Yelpers attack or - should they tell them where to stick their review? [EVAN]